ROME: A Sea-Watch migrant rescue ship came under fire from a Libyan patrol vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, the organization said on Friday, highlighting escalating threats during recent operations.
Sea-Watch, which comes to the aid of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, said there were no injuries.
The volunteer organization said the attack happened overnight from Thursday to Friday, shortly after its ship, the Sea-Watch 5, had rescued 66 people.
“The so-called Libyan coast guard fired live ammunition,” it said in a statement on its website, demanding an immediate investigation and action from the European Union.
Sea-Watch said the Libyan Ubari 660 Corrubia Class patrol boat had ordered the crew via radio to turn north while the rescue operation was ongoing.
To do so would have meant aborting the rescue, it said.
“The militia then approached the ship and eventually fired live ammunition at it. The crew and those rescued were unharmed,” it added.
“After being fired upon, the crew of the Sea-Watch 5 sent out a Mayday relay and informed the relevant authorities and the German federal police.”
Sea-Watch said the number of attacks by Libyan “militia” has intensified in recent months.
On August 24, the rescue ship Ocean Viking, operated by SOS Mediterranee, was fired at. The NGO said “hundreds of bullets” were used and the attack happened after it had rescued 87 people in international waters.
Sea-Watch said the Libyan patrol boat was given to the Libyan coast guard in 2018 as part of a deal the previous year in which Rome and the EU provided financial, technical and material support to intercept migrants and return them to the north African country.
The organization’s spokeswoman, Giorgia Linardi, said the Libyan attacks were a “direct consequence” of European policies.
“It’s unacceptable that the Italian government and the EU allows criminal militia to fire on civilians,” she added.
Charities supporting migrants regularly criticize the situation in Libya, claiming that those seeking to leave are victims of discrimination, racism and violence.
NGO says Libyan patrol vessel shot at migrant rescue ship in the Med
https://arab.news/43kdm
NGO says Libyan patrol vessel shot at migrant rescue ship in the Med
- Sea-Watch, which comes to the aid of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, said there were no injuries
- “The so-called Libyan coast guard fired live ammunition,” it said in a statement
Soleimani warned Al-Assad about ‘spy’ Luna Al-Shibl: Al-Majalla
LONDON: The late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani confronted Syria’s National Security Bureau chief Ali Mamlouk in late 2019 after seeing Luna Al-Shibl leaving his office. Al-Majalla magazine claims its reporters reviewed a document containing the full Arabic transcript of their exchange.
Soleimani reportedly asked, “Who is this?” and Mamlouk replied, “She is Louna Al-Shibl, the president’s adviser.”
The Quds Force commander pressed further: “I know, I know… but who is she really? Where did she work?”
According to Al-Majalla, a sister publication of Arab News, he said her former salary was “ten thousand dollars,” compared with her current salary of “five hundred thousand Syrian pounds,” before asking: “Does it make sense for someone to leave ten thousand dollars for five hundred thousand pounds? She is a spy.”
Both Soleimani and Maher Al-Assad, commander of the Syrian army’s powerful Fourth Division, had warned the ousted president’s inner circle about Al-Shibl, Al-Majalla reported.
‘Suspicious’ car crash
On July 2, 2024, Al-Shibl was involved in what officials described as a traffic accident on the Damascus-Dimas highway. She was hospitalized and died four days later.
But Al-Majalla reported that photos of her armored BMW showed only minor damage, raising immediate questions among those close to the case.
Eyewitnesses told the magazine that the crash was intentional. One said, “a car approached and rammed her vehicle,” and before her bodyguard could exit, “a man attacked her and struck her on the back of the head,” causing paralysis that led to her death.
She was first taken to Al-Saboura clinic, then transferred to Al-Shami Hospital. Several senior regime-linked figures, including businessman Mohammed Hamsho and an aide to Maher Al-Assad, were present when her condition deteriorated. One witness told Al-Majalla that when her bodyguard tried to explain what had happened, “he was arrested immediately in front of the others.”
The presidency later issued a brief statement announcing her death. Her funeral was attended only by a handful of officials. Then president Al-Assad did not attend.
